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[h=4]The Short List: High-tech Barbie talks; Ferguson police chief resigns; monster quake more likely[/h]Out of the loop today? We've got what you missed on a new talking Barbie, a Black Hawk helicopter crash, and the expelled OU students' apologies.
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Out of the loop today? We've got what you missed.(Photo: Mattel)
High-tech Barbie can 'eavesdrop' on your child
If a girl can't have a private conversation with her Barbie doll anymore, what has the world come to? Mattel has developed "Hello Barbie," a $74.99, Wi-Fi-connected doll that can talk to your child with conversational responses. Mattel says it's doing what kids have been asking it to do for years, which is to let them have an actual convo with Barbie. But because a microphone embedded in Barbie's belt buckle records children's voices and transmits them to cloud servers where they will be stored for up to two years, one consumer group is trying to make sure the new doll never hits shelves. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood says the problem is that Mattel will have the ability to listen in on kids at play. "This is really about Mattel eavesdropping on a child's heart and soul — and the most intimate things about their lives," says Susan Linn, executive director of the group. ToyTalk, Mattel's tech partner, says it requests parental permission to use the audio recordings to improve future products, but it's not for marketing of any type. Privacy issues in Toyland. Welcome to the new normal.
What else is in #TheShortList:
• Ferguson police chief resigns after scathing Justice Department report
• Californians, beware the Big One and practice ducking under your desk
• Expelled OU frat students issue their mea culpas
• 11 presumed dead in deadly Black Hawk crash
Short on time? Listen to #TheShortList in the player below:
Ferguson police chief resigns
And that makes three. Ferguson, Mo., Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned today. He's the third top city official to leave following the Justice Department's investigation that found systemic racial bias by the police department and court officials. Jackson had previously resisted calls by protesters and some of Missouri's top elected leaders to step down over his handling of the August shooting of Michael Brown and the weeks of sometimes-violent protests that followed. Judge Ronald Brockmeyer and City Manager John Shaw resigned earlier this week.
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson on Aug. 15, 2014.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)
It's more likely that a monster quake will hit California in our lifetimes
Start bracing for the Big One. That's the message from earthquake scientists, who have a new forecast estimating the chances of earthquakes in California. They say the probability of a strong magnitude-8 quake in the next 30 years has grown. (They last did such an assessment seven years ago.) These findings, said Ned Field, a government geophysicist and lead author of the study, will help update building codes and earthquake insurance policies, and could change how engineers design skyscrapers, hospitals, bridges, schools and water infrastructure. Scientists have long warned that the southern portion of the San Andreas Fault is overdue for a strong earthquake.
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The United States Geological Survey increased the probability for a 8.0 magnitude earthquake to hit California within our lifetimes. VPC
One expelled OU frat student apologizes for racist chant. The other tapped his parents to do it
They said some terribly racist things, and now they're saying they're sorry. Well, one of them is. The other had his parents do it for him. University of Oklahoma President David Boren on Tuesday expelled two students accused of playing a "leadership role" in a video showing Sigma Alpha Epsilon members singing a racist chant. The fraternity has been booted off campus. One student and the parents of the other issued public apologies. "I am deeply sorry for what I did Saturday night," Parker Rice, 19, said in a statement. "It was wrong and reckless. I made a horrible mistake by joining into the singing and encouraging others to do the same." Brody and Susan Pettit said their son, Levi, "made a horrible mistake and will live with the consequences forever.'' SAE's national headquarters distanced itself from the chant, which includes a racial slur, contends that African Americans will never be allowed in the fraternity and makes references to lynching.
University of Oklahoma students march to the now closed Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house during a rally in Norman, Okla., Tuesday, March 10, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Sue Ogrocki, AP)
Helicopter crash is another dark chapter for Marine special-operations forces
Seven Marines and four crewmembers are missing and presumed dead today after an Army helicopter crashed during a training exercise off the Florida Panhandle last night. The area was under a fog advisory when the UH-60 Black Hawk crashed near Eglin Air Force Base about 50 miles east of Pensacola. Seven of those on board belonged to the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, or MARSOC. MARSOC is the Marine component of U.S. Special Operations Command, which was created to bring together the highly specialized capabilities of each branch of the military. The command had a difficult start nine years ago and has had a difficult road since. Read more about the Marine unit here.
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Extra Bites:
We had to highlight this photo of baby chameleons in today's Day in Pictures gallery. Swipe through more top shots. (Oh, and we learned today how chameleons really change their colors, so that's cool.)
Veiled Chameleon hatchlings at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on March 11, 2015. Taronga has welcomed more than 20 baby chameleons, with the last of three clutches of eggs hatching this week. Veiled Chameleons, or Chamaeleo calyptratus, are native to Saudi Arabia and Yemen and can live up to five years.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Taronga Zoo via European Pressphoto Agency)
A massive alligator invaded a Florida golf course. You just have to see the pictures.
Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has a request for fans: Stop throwing pizzas on my roof.
The party game for horrible people is officially mobile. You can now play Cards Against Humanity on your smartphone, tablet and computer.
We are less than a week away from St. Patrick's Day, people.
Actor Windell D. Middlebrooks, best known for being the "Miller High Life" guy, has died.
Gender equality in the USA is still a work in progress. In honor of Women's History Month, USA TODAY interviewed women from a variety of backgrounds about what it's like to live in America today. Hear women tell stories #InTheirWords about everything from feminism, to motherhood, to hitting (and breaking) glass ceilings.
What else is on our reading list:
Associated Press sues State Dept. over Clinton e-mails
ISIL brainwashes, trains new generation of militants
NASCAR lifts suspension of Kurt Busch
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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.
Contributing: John Bacon, Yamiche Alcindor, Bruce Horovitz, Alan Gomez, USA TODAY; Kevin Robinson, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal; Ian James, The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun; Associated Press
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